Connection for woven and knitted fabric



May P A. E 1,960,444

CONNECTION FOR WOVEN AND KNITTEDv FABRIC Filed Sept. 8, 1932 INVENTOR 64/! A. Z/lV/ff Patented May 29, 1 934 OFFICE CONNECTION ron woggm AND KNITTED FABR Paul A. Linke, Summit, N. J., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 8, 1932, Serial No. 632,175

9 Claims. (01. 66-172) This invention relates to a connection for woven and knitted fabric, more particularly to a connection between a knitted stocking body and a woven welt.

In the usual manner of knitting stockings, they are provided with a knitted welt of a double thickness of the material. An objection to such welts is that when they are grippedby the clasp of the stocking supporter, they tend to pull and tear, thus starting runs which extend down into the stocking. It has recently been proposedto provide a woven top or welt, in which usual weft threads form loops at an edge of the welt, and the stocking is then knitted to these loops. By such a construction, a welt of a single thickness of material is provided and the formation of runs in the welt extending down into the stocking body, is prevented. However, when such a, woven welt is gripped by the stocking supporter, there is a tendency todistort the welt and to pull the warps out of position.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved connection between a knitted fabric and a woven or other non-knitted fabric.

Another object is to provide a stocking welt which is both non-running and non-distorting.

Other objects will appear from the detailed description, claims and drawing, in which latter:

Figure 1 is a much enlarged broken view showing an embodiment of the invention by which a knitted body portion is secured to a woven portion; and

Fig. 2 is a view showing a stocking embodying the invention.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a woven portion havingof two adjacent full length wefts 3. The loops 5' should extend from the side of the woven fabric a sufficient extent to permit them to be transferred to the needles of a knitting machine, as by placing the respective loops on the 'point of a transfer bar or transfer ring and then transferring them to such needles, in a mannerwell understood by those skilled in the art of knitting. When this has been done, a suitable yarn is fed to the needles in any conventional or desirable manner and a series of loops 7,15 drawn through the loops 5 to form a course of knitted loops. Thereafter, the knitting operation is continued to form series of loops as shown at 8.

In the drawing there is shown one particular form of woven material, but it is obvious that this 60 may be modified in various manners as long as it is provided with short interposed extra wefts which form loops along the edge of the woven material, and which are interlocked with adjacent wefts and with the warps. The elastic warps 6 2 may, if desired, be bare rubber threads or they may be covered with fibrous material. Preferably, though not necessarily, the elastic bare threads or the elastic cores of covered threads are made in accordance with the process of patent to Hopkinson et/al. No. 1,545,257, granted July '7, 1925. Threads made in such manner, being formed directly from rubber latex, are grainless, of superior strength, ageing qualities and tearing strength, and they are free from surface irregularities tending to cause tearing, such as are encountered in cut rubber threads. Moreover, their uniformity of diameter and smoothness of sure face produces a covered thread which is exceptionally uniform in all its qualities. Preferably Y the rubber latex from which the thread is made is concentrated and freed of non-rubber watersoluble constituents, and it may be compounded for vulcanization or a vulcanized latex may be used. 'If covered elastic threads are used, they preferably are made according to the disclosure of the above named patent and that to Adamson -to the making of a connection between the body of aknitted stocking and a woven welt therefor. As before pointed out, each pair of short interposed wefts 4, which are connected to the loops 5 to which the knit portion of the stocking is knitted, is interlocked in place both by the warp threads with which the pair'of short wefts are intercalated and also by the loop formed at the outer end of two adjacent regular wefts. Hence, stockings made with the connection of -my invention, are provided with a welt whichis of a single thickness of material, which ,cannot cause runs extending down into the knit body of the stocking, which will not become distorted by reason of the pull of the clasp of a stocking supporter, and in which the warp threads will not become displaced in use. Various other uses will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, such as in knit garments, gloves, etc.

It is obvious that instead of directly knitting the knit portion on to the woven portion, as shown in Fig. 1, the two portions may be connected by a looping operation in well known manner.

Having thus described my invention, what -I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A fabric article comprising a w en portion having elastic warps therein, wefts extending only partly into said woven portion and forming projecting loops along an edge thereof, and a knitted portion knitted to said loops.

2. A knitted article having a woven elastic,

edge portion, said woven portion having between its wefts a series of interposed short extra wefts provided with projecting edge loops, and a knitted portion attached to the woven portion by loops passing through said edge loops.

3. A fabric article comprising a woven portion having elastic warps therein, wefts extending entirely across said woven portion, a series of regularly spaced short wefts interposed between said first wefts and formed with projecting loops along an edge of said woven portion, and a knitted portion having edgeloops passing through said first loops.

4. A fabric article comprising a knitted section and an elastic section of interwoven elements and having edge loops, the end loops of wales of the knitted section being connected to said edge loops, the thread of said edge loops being interwoven with said elastic section for only a short distance in from the edgeoi the latter.

5. A stocking having an elastic top of interwoven elements, end loops of the stocking proper .said first loops.

7. A fabric article comprising a woven portion having elastic warps therein, full length wefts extending entirely across said woven portion, in-

terposed shorter wefts woven with warps of said woven portion and held by full length wefts at the edge of said woven portion, said shorter wefts being formed with projecting loops along an edge of said woven portion, and a knitted portion knitted to said loops.

8. A fabric article comprising a knitted section and a woven elastic welt section, the end loops of wales of the knitted section being connected to edge loops formed on the woven section, the thread of said edge loops being interwoven with a small number of warps of the woven section and held at the edge of the woven section by adjacent wefts.

9. A stocking comprising a woven welt including inelastic and elastic warps, inelastic wefts extending entirely across the welt, pairs of short inelastic wefts intercalated with said inelastic warps and connected by loops extending from an edge of the welt, each of said pairs of short wefts being disposed between a pair of adjoining wefts and. held in position by the adjacent wefts at the welt edge, and a stocking body knitted to said loops.

PAUL A. LINKE. 

